My first visa approval was a Schengen visa, but I ended up not?
Getting a visa and then not using it can be a strong point to any other countrys visa officers: it can appear likely that the person is not overeager to bail out of his/her own country. Of course, individual countries have strong and weak points for intending immigrants: just for one example, language differences. It could be that a person who speaks - lets say - French but not Spanish, might find France more tempting a place to visit and stay than Bolivia or Ecuador. Same for English speakers: perhaps more likely to want to remain in the UK or US because they already have the language. And there are enterprising intending immigrants who might acquire a visa or two for countries they have no desire to visit but the visas are relatively easy to get. The longer-term goal might be a totally different country that they feel is more likely to give them a visa if they already have a few that they havent bothered to use and thus appear more tightly tied to home than they actually are.